Advising for Study Abroad

Students may come to academic advisers and current or past professors for advice and support regarding appropriate study abroad/off-campus study opportunities. Below is some information to aid faculty in their conversations with students.

Initial Academic Advising for Study Abroad

The Office of International & Off-Campus Education encourages students to meet with their academic advisers from the beginning of the study abroad planning process. Specific to semester study abroad, students should speak with their academic advisers about their major/minor requirements, course sequencing, and flexibility of course sequencing. This will help give students an idea of when they should study abroad and what courses they should be/should not be looking for. Also important to discuss with students is if a specific academic department has any rules, regulations, or guidelines for what courses can/cannot be transferred back to Lafayette.

Program-Specific Advising

It is the student’s responsibility to research and select an appropriate study abroad program, with the support of the Office of International & Off-Campus Education and the student’s academic department(s). Students should provide academic advisers with the information needed to assess programs or courses (including syllabi, accreditation information, etc.).

Students are instructed to speak with their academic adviser/academic department about the appropriateness of courses on any given study abroad program. All other information and questions (i.e. application process, housing options, program dates, deadlines, etc.) should be directed to the Office of International & Off-Campus Education.

Recommendation Letters

Some programs require students to submit a recommendation letter or letter of reference for the student applicant. In this case, students may ask academic advisers or current or past professors for letters of recommendation. These letters may have a specifically provided format or may be open to how the recommender would like to format their response. Students are encouraged to provide recommenders with plenty of time to complete the recommendation and any supporting information (i.e. printout of informal transcripts, resume, etc.) that might help the recommender complete the letter.

For Lafayette faculty-led semester programs, students are required to submit two recommendations, one from an academic adviser and the other from another full-time Lafayette faculty member. The recommendation asks for whether the reference recommends the student (yes/no) and a space for any additional comments.